Plot

In August 1966, in a Vietnamese rubber plantation called Long Tan, 108 young and inexperienced Australian and New Zealand soldiers are fighting for their lives against 2500 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong soldiers.

South Vietnam, late afternoon on August 18, 1966 - for three and a half hours, in the pouring rain, amid the mud and shattered trees of a rubber plantation called Long Tan, Major Harry Smith and his dispersed company of 108 young and mostly inexperienced Australian and New Zealand soldiers are fighting for their lives, holding off an overwhelming enemy force of 2,500 battle hardened Main Force Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army soldiers. With their ammunition running out, their casualties mounting and the enemy massing for a final assault each man begins to search for his own answer - and the strength to triumph over an uncertain future with honor, decency and courage. The Battle of Long Tan is one of the most savage and decisive engagements in ANZAC history, earning both the United States and South Vietnamese Presidential Unit Citations for gallantry along with many individual awards. But not before 18 Australians and more than 245 Vietnamese are killed.—Martin Walsh

Outnumbered, outgunned, never out of courage - 'Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan' is an exhilarating and hard-hitting war thriller based on the unbelievable true story of The Battle of Long Tan. Major Harry Smith (Travis Fimmel) and his company of 108 young and inexperienced Australian and New Zealand soldiers are fighting for their lives in the Battle of Long Tan. With 2,500 battle-hardened Viet Cong soldiers closing in, their ammunition running out and casualties mounting, each man.—tpsimpleman

Australia and New Zealand sent their forces to Vietnam to support the US in its fight against communism. They are a mix of conscripts and volunteers with an average age of 20. Most have never seen combat.

The film opens with a mortar attack on the 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) base at Nui Dat by the Viet Cong (VC) and People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN). During the attack, Major Harry Smith (Travis Fimmel) leader of Delta company is cool under fire, ordering his men to take cover and stand to, while other soldiers don't take it seriously, playing cards or drinking beer. The base consists of Captain Morrie Stanley (Aaron Glenane), Warrant Officer Class Two Jack Kirby (Alexander England), Bombardier Ray Ngatai (Uli Latukefu), Private Paul Large (Daniel Webber) and Private Noel Grimes (Nicholas Hamilton). Private Frank Topp (Jullian Cullen) and Private Colin Whiston (Sam Fraser) are new joiners to Delta company.

Second Lieutenant Gordon Sharp (Mojean Aria) is part of 11 Platoon and is supposed to be in charge of finding the mortar direction. But Sharp was playing cards with his men and ignores orders from Harry. Quick action from Sergeant Bob Buick (Luke Bracey) helped Harry in finding the direction of the mortar fire. Lieutenant Colonel Colin Townsend (Anthony Hayes) heads the artillery unit.

The base fends off the attack with counter-battery fire, killing the enemy mortar crew. The Australians are shown to be too casual towards the war. Harry admonishes Private Large who was drinking beer while on patrol duty at the time of the enemy attack. Kirby confronts Harry and says that he runs his Delta company twice as hard as any other company that Kirby has ever been a part of, and yet he has never seen Harry respect his men. Harry believes that he is a professional soldier, and he has been put in charge of conscripts, which he considers a waste of his skills and potential. Harry asks Brigadier Jackson for a transfer to a commando unit, but Jackson refuses and asks Harry to follow Townsend's orders.

Following the attack, Major Smith volunteers his unit, Delta Company, 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (6 RAR) to investigate the rubber tree plantation at Long Tân 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) away. Townsend refuses the offer from Smith and instead Bravo Company is ordered to locate the mortar firing points and the direction of the enemy withdrawal. Bravo finds no enemy forces.

The next day, Major Smith's Delta Company is sent to relieve Bravo, and thus missing the concert of Australian musicians Little Pattie (Emmy Dougall) and Col Joye and the Joy Boys set for that afternoon. Finding fresh tracks leading away from the mortar firing sites, Delta moves to follow the enemy forces. 11 Platoon (led by Sharp) takes the lead and makes contact with a small VC patrol. 11 platoon comes under heavy machine gun fire and reports to Harry, who sends 10 Platoon to reinforce 11 Platoon. Sharp asks for artillery fire, which is accurate and takes out many enemy infantries, but they keep on coming. 10 Platoon encounters their own enemy platoon and is engaged in fire and hence unable to advance to help 11 Platoon. 11 Platoon penetrates further into the plantation, widening the gap with 10 Platoon, and the rest of the company.

11 Platoon quickly comes under heavy attack and calls down fire from artillery units back at Nui Dat, dangerously close to its position, to hold back the enemy force. The heavy artillery fire forces the enemy to retreat and giving 11 Platoon a temporary breather. One soldier from 10 Platoon reaches Harry and informs him that the enemy has 100's of soldiers. Harry knows that their plan is to eventually overrun the base. Hence the attack has to be dealt with then and there. 12 Platoon reinforces, but the attack is only getting stronger. 11 Platoon become isolated, in danger of being overrun. Harry realizes that the enemy has attacked with a battalion of 700 to 800 men and asks Jackson for reinforcements with Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs) and air support in the form of ground attack aircraft. Jackson sends air support requested from the Americans. But the jets are not able to find any smoke markers to unload their ammunition (the smoke bombs thrown by Bob Buick turn out to be duds). Seeing the situation as hopeless, Buick asks Harry to drop artillery directly on his position, which would effectively kill the 11 Platoon. Harry has no option but to agree to Buick. It seems like the 11 Platoon has not survived the barrage as Harry is not able to raise them on radio. Harry's men hate him for making this decision of raining artillery on his own men.

Now, Harry's own position comes under VC fire. Back at Nui Dat, Brigadier Oliver David Jackson (Richard Roxburgh) is hesitant to commit reinforcements, and orders Delta to withdraw. Major Smith refuses to leave 11 Platoon behind and decides to mount a rescue mission. Harry sends a few men up to 10 Platoon with a radio to establish contact. Harry orders 10 Platoon to withdraw to his location.

Low on ammunition and under a monsoon, Major Smith pleads for a helicopter resupply. The senior RAAF officer at Nui Dat, Group Captain Peter Raw, does not want to risk aircraft with a hot LZ in the monsoon. However, two RAAF Iroquois pilots, Flight Lieutenant Francis Patrick (Frank) Riley (Myles Pollard) and Flight Lieutenant Robert George (Bob) Grandin (Alex Neal), volunteer to support D Company, flying in under heavy fire. Harry pops a smoke can on his location, allowing the helicopters to deliver the supplies to him.

Now resupplied, but still outnumbered, Major Smith organizes his forces and sends a rescue mission for 11 Platoon. This time the rescue team reaches 11's position and finds survivors. The news of finding survivors in the 11 Platoon galvanizes the base as well as Harry.

Jackson is still reluctant to send APCs as that would leave him with 100 men to defend the base and he says that he has intel indicating another attack from an enemy battalion from the other direction. Townsend stands up to Jackson and says that with APCs he can take the fight to the enemy rather than waiting for them to attack. Eventually, Jackson is forced to send APCs to rescue Delta, leaving the base open to attack. Harry successfully holds off the enemy assault, before the relief force of M113 armored personnel carriers and infantry from Nui Dat finally arrives and force the PAVN soldiers to withdraw.

But Largie is shot in the head while fighting and dies in the spot. In a final aftermath scene, the soldiers are roll-called and those that were KIA are missing. Major Smith bids one last farewell to departing body of Largie by helicopter. During the battle of Long Tan, 108 Australian and New Zealand soldiers held back a North Vietnamese force of over 2000 soldiers. 18 Australians and 245 Vietnamese lost their lives.